Ken Hirata, a Nagasaki politician who last month suggested a ‘wait-and-see’ approach on the integrated resort (IR) issue, has won the local governorship election in that Japanese prefecture.
Mr Hirata (pictured in a file photo) ousted the incumbent governor Kengo Oishi, who had been in charge when the prefecture’s bid to host an IR including a casino failed in 2023 to win national-government approval.
The victor had been a deputy governor of the prefecture in the southwest of the island of Kyushu, between 2018 and 2022, encompassing a period when Nagasaki was pursuing a pro-IR policy.
In Sunday’s poll, Mr Hirata got 287,134 votes, standing as an independent, on a reported turnout of 57.27 percent, up from 47.83 percent in the previous election in 2022.
Mr Oishi, on the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ticket, got 280,346 votes. A third independent candidate, Ryosuke Tsutsui got 26,390 votes.
Mr Hirata did receive some support from local LDP supporters as well as other parties, as the LDP had declared the poll a free vote, according to GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
In late January this year, the Nishinippon Shimbun news outlet had published information from a questionnaire it had put to candidates that mentioned the IR topic. That question was: “Do you think the prefecture should try having an IR in the next round?” The candidates were asked specifically if they agreed or disagreed with the IR proposition, according to GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent.
Mr Hirata had replied: “Neither agree nor disagree. The prefecture should see what will happen in Osaka prefecture.”
In December 2023, the national authorities had declined to approve Nagasaki’s IR District Development Plan. They cited concerns over the project’s funding.
Japan’s Cabinet’s had in January proposed a timetable of May 6, 2027 to November 5 that year for a new application round for local governments interested in hosting an IR.
The sole fruit of a first-round process for IR applications – the JPY1.51-trillion (US$9.64-billion currently) MGM Osaka – is due to launch at the end of 2030.
Economic reform-minded politician Sanae Takaichi, from the LDP, is due to return to power as Japan’s prime minister after winning a “supermajority” in Sunday’s lower-house election for the national parliment.
Ms Takaichi supports the policy of having IRs as a form of regional economic stimulus for the country.
